Geomatics Engineering
Geomatics Engineering is a rapidly developing discipline that focuses on spatial information (i.e. information that has a location). The location is the primary factor used to integrate a very wide range of data for viewing and analysis. Engineering principles are applied to spatial information in order to implement relational data structures involving measurement sciences.
Geomatics engineers manage local, regional, national and global spatial data infrastructures. Geomatics Engineering is a new expression incorporating what used to be called “Surveying” along with many other aspects of spatial data management. Following the advanced developments in digital data processing, the nature of the tasks required of the Professional Land Surveyor has evolved and the term Surveying alone does not anymore describe the whole range of tasks that the profession deals with. As our societies have become more complex, information with a spatial position associated with it has become more critical to decision-making, from a personal and a business perspective, and a community and a large-scale governmental viewpoint. Therefore the variety of information-gathering activities and applications with which the Geomatics Engineer can be involved is extremely wide. Geomatics engineers design, develop, and operate systems for collecting and analyzing spatial information about the land, the oceans, natural resources, fixed assets and the environment in general. Geomatics Engineering applications include, but are not limited to, integrating science and technology from the new and traditional disciplines of: [0005] Geodesy and Geodetic Science, [0006] Cartography, computer and digital mapping, [0007] Remote sensing, Photogrammetry (photogrammetric mapping), [0008] Land Information Systems (LIS) and Land Information Science, [0009] Land Information Management, [0010] Real Property boundary determination, [0011] Hydrography, Navigation, Topographic and Spatial Computing, [0012] Surveying (including land, cadastral, aerial, mining and engineering surveying), [0013] Construction layout, route design, [0014] Image Understanding and Computer Aided Visualization, [0015] Computer Aided Design (CAD), [0016] Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Geographic Information Science, [0017] Global Positioning System (GPS), . . . .
Real Property Boundary Determination and Marking
The more traditional Land Surveying strand of Geomatics Engineering is concerned with the determination and recording of boundaries and areas of real property parcels, and the preparation and interpretation of legal land descriptions. The tasks more closely related to Civil Engineering include the design and layout of public infrastructure and urban subdivisions, and mapping and control surveys for engineering projects. Geomatics Engineers serve society by collecting, monitoring, archiving and maintaining diverse spatial data infrastructures. Geomatics engineers utilize a wide range of technologically advanced tools such as digital INK “../../../wiki/Theodolite” theodolite/distance meter total stations, Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment, digital aerial imagery (both satellite and air-borne), and computer-based geographic information systems (GIS). These tools enable the Geomatics Engineer to gather, analyze, and manage spatially related information to solve a wide range of technical and societal problems. Geomatics Engineering is the field of activity that integrates the acquisition, processing, analysis, display and management of spatial information.
Land Surveyor's Marks
Currently, in “Real property boundary determination and marking”, the first and mandatory activity of a land surveyor is to find and identify on the ground any already existing “surveyor's marks”. In fact this is a legal obligation (however, low may vary depending on the country), to link his work to any previous surveying work that may have been done in the past, in the same or adjacent areas. Public marks are very well identified and the practitioner can easily find in the public records the characteristics of such a mark (exact geographical position and elevation). In contrast, in the private domain it is sometimes extremely difficult, once a previous surveyor's mark is found, to know what it delimits. Most of the time, the only way to determine what an existing mark indicates, is to find who is the professional who had positioned this mark. Finding the Practitioner who did position the found marks can take a very long time, and be very costly, sometimes it is even impossible. Moreover, the mark may have been pooled out and moved, and it is not obvious to discover that.